1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to sports products and more particularly to a swing trainer used by sports players for hitting balls and other objects.
2. Description of Prior Art
In many sports, one of the most difficult skills to master is hitting. First, the hitter must be able to coordinate the swing of a bat, club, racquet, or stick while making contact with an object such as a ball, puck, or other sports projectile. Once this skill is mastered, the hitter must next learn to make good contact with the object at various locations. In some cases the hitter must also learn to hit the object as it travels at velocities over 100 mph.
To develop good hitting skills, a player, trainer, or coach may use a variety of hitting devices. In baseball, softball, tennis, and other sports requiring a player to hit an object, a swing trainer is sometimes used.
In regards to the present invention, there are two popular types of swing trainers.
One type of swing trainer is called a batting stick. A batting stick is a swing trainer having a molded piece of plastic formed in the shape of a ball on one end, a flexible fiberglass rod in the center, and a molded handle on the opposite end.
In use, one person holds the batting stick in his or her hand, while a hitter swings at the simulated molded ball. Once hit, the holder brings the batting stick to a stop and repositions the molded ball back in the hitting zone for the hitter to hit again. The batting stick allows a hitter to get in many hits in a small amount of time, eliminates the need to chase a ball, allows the hitter to practice hitting at home, and is quite inexpensive.
Another type of swing trainer is called a solo swing trainer. A solo swing trainer functions like a batting stick; however, there is no need for a second person to hold the batting stick since the solo swing trainer holds the batting stick for the hitter. Once a hitter hits the batting stick, the solo hitter has a resistance member to return the batting stick back to its original position.
The benefit of the solo swing trainer is the hitter is not dependent on another person to hold the batting stick. This allows the hitter freedom to hit. Just like the batting stick, the solo trainer allows a hitter to get in many hits in a small amount of time, eliminates the need to chase a ball, allows the hitter to practice hitting at home. However, the solo trainer is more expensive than the batting stick.
There are many known problems with the batting stick listed above. First, since a batter is hitting a ball molded to a fiberglass rod, the ball wants to fly off the fiberglass rod. Because of this problem, current batting sticks have been designed with a sheath that has a core end and a protective end. The core end looks like a ball and the protective end is molded down the fiberglass rod about 9″. The molded protective end adds more gripping surface to the fiberglass rod to help keep the molded core attached. In addition, the molded protective end also provides protection from breaking the fiberglass rod when hit by a bat, racquet or the like.
The problem with the solo swing trainer is the batting stick wants to come unattached from the solo stand. Because of this problem, the batting stick does not have a handle designed for a human hand to hold, but has handle designed for a machine to hold. This makes it impossible for a person to remove the batting stick from the solo swing trainer and use it by itself at home, the ball field, or the court.
Another problem with the solo swing trainer is the base is very heavy and expensive to ship and use. The reason for this is the solo swing trainer must be able to withstand a hit ball without tipping over. Therefore a great deal of weight is required for stability and weight cost money in both material and shipping.
Another problem with both the batting stick and the solo swing trainer is sometimes the molded ball comes unattached from the fiberglass rod or the fiberglass rod breaks due to impact. This becomes a safety concern since an dislodged object can come in contact with a person or thing and cause damage.
Also, since the molded ball is a one piece molded construction, having a core end that looks like a ball and a protective end that creates additional gripping for the ball to stay attached to the fiberglass rod, no one has been able to attach a cover to the oblong sheath piece. This is because the 9″ long protective end of the sheath keeps the cover from attaching to the core end.
Another problem with the two current designs is the material used to mold the ball can't be shaped to look like a baseball or softball since the transition from the protective end to the core end needs to be smooth since sharp corners cause weak points in the molded ball. This weak point will make it almost impossible for the ball to stay on the fiberglass rod when hit.
Because of this, current batting sticks have a large fillet/transition radius transitioning from the protective end to the core end. This also causes the ball to look more like a knob than a real ball.
In addition, since the ball and the protective end are of an oblong molded construction, the protective end and the ball are of the same color. This makes it difficult for the human eye not to focus on both the ball and the protective end. One product in the market has recognized the problem of having the same color ball and protective end. Because of this, the product includes a separate cover sheath that is a different color. This cover sheath slides over the protective end of the molded sheath. However, the molded ball still does not look like a regulation ball since a real cover has not been attached to the core end of the sheath.
Because of these problems, I took one of the previously designed batting sticks, cut off the handle, and painted the protective end black. I then wrapped tape around the core end of the batting stick to build up the diameter of the core end. Once I did this, I then removed the thread from a cover of a regulation ball. I took the cover apart and cut a hole the size of the protective end, approximately 0.750″ in diameter, in the vertical cover section of the cover. I then slid the fiberglass rod through the hole in the cover and sewed the cover on the batting stick.
After I did this, I tested the product and noticed the paint was chipping off the stem. This gave me the idea to mold the desired color into the sheath. In addition, the sheath's preferred color should contrast with the color of the cover.
The next step was finding a material that could be molded with a tighter transitional radius so the core end of the sheath could look more like a ball.
The next problem was to design a safety anchor in case the ball flew off the rod or broke when hit. I did this by sewing a nylon strap about 0.500″ in diameter and about 9″ in length on the cover of the ball. I then sewed a loop on the other end of the safety anchor.
To assemble, I slid the loop over the fiberglass rod until the loop hit the beginning of the protective end of the sheath. I then sewed the ball cover on the core end of the sheath.
I then designed a solo stand that would allow me to quickly attach and remove a batting stick made for the human hand, instead of one made to mount to a machine. This gave me the ability to provide a 2-in-1 swing trainer.
The new 2-in-1 swing trainer comes with a batting stick that can be used with another person, or alone with a solo stand. In one case the hitter can carry the batting stick in a bat bag and then take it out of the bat bag to warm up before a game with a friend. Then the hitter can come home later and quickly attach the batting stick to the solo stand and hit alone.